It?s not easy being green but help is at hand
Guest post by The Learning Escape
Becoming an eco-school isn?t just about waving the Green Flag and showing that your school is doing ?its bit? for the environment. As energy bills rise and carbon taxes are put into practice, thinking about how to cut energy costs has become more important than ever. Taking the leap and applying for an eco-school status requires sustainable and thorough planning, schools need to think about the future of their grounds and the local community.
In order to tick some of the Green Flag boxes, many schools are choosing to develop their grounds on site and create new outdoor classrooms that are energy efficient and are designed to encourage their pupils to interact with the environment. By introducing a new, eco-friendly outdoor space, schools are not only improving their sustainability they are also helping teach pupils about the importance of Environmental Citizenship.
Schools are ad
vised to seek help when developing a new eco-classroom, from an expert that offers the full service. From the initial planning stage right through to the after-care, it?s important that there is a successful and proactive relationship between the school and the expert. Developing a good sustainable strategy with a specialist can ensure that the new build is helping both the school and the environment. When developing an outdoor classroom there are a number of features we offer to ensure that the design is sustainable and efficient:
Foundations. We?ve researched a unique pad-based system for our foundations that enable us to use a minimal amount of concrete and reduce a school?s carbon footprint.
Insulation. The glass wool insulation we use in our builds is manufactured from a combination of silica sand and up to 80% recycled post-consumer glass. This makes it one of the most environmentally sustainable insulation products on the market today.
Sustainable timber. All of the timber we use in our builds comes from sustainable forests. This means that the forests are managed to meet the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations.
Solar Panels. Renewable energy isn?t just a ?keyword?, even the British sunshine can help schools generate their own electricity. Solar panels only need daylight to start the process and, with no greenhouse gases produced, they can dramatically decrease the school?s carbon footprint.
Worried how much this is going to eat into your school budget? There are plenty of options for funding available to schools that want to improve their sustainability. We?ve recently produced a Funding Report that can help schools find the money for their new build. It isn?t always an easy process becoming green but there is help at hand for those that want to wave the Green Flag.
This guest post was written by The Learning Escape
The Learning Escape, part of TG Escapes, design inspiring eco-classrooms and buildings that encourage environmental citizenship, outdoor learning and educational play. Find out more at www.tgescapes.co.uk
